


Cold Anger

by Clara_Parlato



Series: Stitched Smile [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Body Horror, Descent into Madness, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance sewns his mouth shut so yeah, M/M, Madness, Pining Keith (Voltron), Protective Keith (Voltron), Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 22:27:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19799023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clara_Parlato/pseuds/Clara_Parlato
Summary: “Listen to me, you either get your shit together and start making up for it or I’ll make sure all of you end up worse than Lance.”Or: the one Keith rips Team Voltron a new asshole.





	Cold Anger

Everything that rises, falls.

That is true even to the flimsy world of emotions, as Keith's joy of being back at the Castle of Lions, being back  _ home _ , soon turned into dread when there was no blue eyed gaze directed to him, or a cheeky and cute smile letting teasing words out.

“Where's Lance?” He inquired, eyes scanning the kitchen for tanned skin and soft hair.

“Oh, he must be moping around his room now that one of our best pilots is back.” Pidge quipped, and Keith definitely didn't like the mean glint on her eyes.

Keith was dense, but he wasn't  _ dumb _ . He knew the team had the nasty habit of putting Lance down because of his theatrics, which was unfair to anyone and  _ specially _ Lance, the person who more than once proved he deserved to be a Paladin even more than all of them.  _ Together _ . And while, yes, Kogane knew he could be a bit…  _ biased _ , considering his feelings for the new Red Paladin, he had a lot of evidence and witnesses to back him up.

Black once almost snapped at him after he spent hours explaining to her why Lance should be the leader and how Shiro could eat shit because he was goddamn wrong if he thought suddenly putting Keith on command would be a good way to make him grow up. In fact he was only able to stop being a douchebag and actually be somewhat of a leader because  _ Lance _ had guided him, basically teaching him how to strategize, how to deal with bureaucracy—Allura was shit at explaining things—, how to deal with people—aliens and the team—, and how to deal with his own emotions—a work in progress, but still. Lance, as his right hand man, was literally the leader's _ leader. _ One does not simply get more Black Paladin…  _ ish _ than  _ that. _

Black had dared to say Lance wasn't ready, didn't have enough experience, and Keith had left fuming after screaming how Lance would never be ready and have enough experience if he  _ wasn't given a chance. _ It took a few hours of pacing and a few minutes of hugging the shit of his right hand man for him to calm down that day.

“I’m going to go see Lance.”

“Lunch is ready, don’t you want to eat?” Shiro asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I’ll go see Lance.”

“I’ll go with him, and bring a plate for Lance.” Hunk immediately offered, seeing the tension crawl up Keith’s back.

The Black Paladin wordlessly walked outside the kitchen, noticing how quickly Hunk followed him even though he probably would’ve taken longer to make a plate for Lance… Unless that was his plan all along and Keith just happened to be a convenient excuse.

No matter, he had more important things to ask.

“How’s Lance?”

“He’s relatively well.”

“What do you mean ‘relatively’? What happened?”

“He’s going insane, Keith.”

The half-Galra stopped abruptly, eyes piercing the other boy with an unmerciful glare. Looking better, the Yellow Paladin looked really frazzled. He usually wasn’t pompous like Lance or Allura when it came to appearance, but he had the decency to at least look like a functioning being most of the time. However, now, he looked even more hollow than Pidge after a week of brainstorming in the confines of her lab with almost no sleep and coffee as a substitute for food. Deep bags under his sunken eyes contrasting with his sickly skin, eyes heavy with worry and sorrow. His clothes were askew, as if they were put on as an afterthought, his hair looked so messy the hair band was almost swallowed by the dark tresses. His curved stance gave off the impression of someone carrying an enormous burden, which said something because they were  _ fighting a war _ , yet whatever burden Hunk was carrying was even heavier than it.

“What?”

“Lance is going crazy, Keith. The consequences of the war together with the team’s treatment and his own not so good mental health made him go mad.” He looked so guilty.

“You have part in it.”

“I can be neglectful without meaning to. It’s not an excuse, but it’s the truth. When I finally came to my senses, it had already started. Coran and I have been trying our best to bring him back, but it’s an extremely slow process.” With pleading eyes, Hunk held Keith’s shoulder with his free hand, balancing the plate on his other hand. “I’m sorry I let it happen.”

“You should say that to Lance.”

“I did. I don’t expect either of you to forgive me right now, but I’m working on it.”

“... I should probably apologize for not being here for him.”

“Hello, guilty, my old friend.”

That joke was so  _ Lance,  _ it felt bland coming out of Hunk’s lips, but Keith managed a half-hearted chuckle.

* * *

“Oh, Lance, what happened to you?”

Lance looked at him with his bluest blue eyes, lips stretched on a large smile, the scars where a needle pierced his skin fresh. He was sitting in the middle of his room, surrounded by dolls of his own confection. Some were scattered through the floor and bed and other surfaces. Some, like Zarkon and Haggar, were hanging from the ceiling, as if being hanged for their sins.

The Red Paladin quickly made his way to Keith, hugging the boy close. His skin was still soft and he still smelt like cinnamon. The half-human was glad to know his beauty routine had not changed. It meant some of Lance was there, clinging stubbornly to itself.

“Keith! I missed you! I told Keith-doll you’d be home soon!”

Keith stared at said doll, laying limply where Lance had been sitting, lifeless button eyes staring back almost as if daring. He brought the boy as close as Physics would allow, taking a deep breath so the cinnamon and sea and  _ home  _ scent could fill his nostrils. He gave a small nod to Hunk, who he had frankly forgotten was there too, as the bigger boy left the plate on the table near a plush replica of the Blue Lion and hurriedly walked out of the room, probably to report to Coran. Not being able to resist, Keith kissed Lance’s head, getting a giggle in response.

“Did I do something good to get a kiss?”

“You deserve all the kisses, Lance.”

Damn, he was soft. He couldn’t help it. He loved that boy too much.

* * *

After helping Lance eat—Hunk “accidentally” put more food than necessary on the plate, and Keith pretended he didn’t knew Hunk was planning on eating the excess himself before Keith decided to be with Lance instead—and listening to him babble about his dolls and Hunk and Coran—which was cute as it was creepy because he’d stop sometimes to “listen” to what the dolls were saying or suddenly laugh because a doll was “talking” at the same time as Keith—, the moment Keith had dreaded came.

Lance would sewn his mouth shut again.

Hunk had warned him against trying to stop the boy. Stopping him would only cause him to do it behind their backs and go back to spending way too long with the stitches, invalidating all the progress made. A hard learned lesson and enough nightmare fuel for the next lifeline.

So he sat quietly on the bathroom’s counter as Lance got the needle and the thread.

The needle came in and then out of soft flesh. The thread was of a beautiful crimson, contrasting with the red of the blood that inevitably came out and Lance’s tanned skin. It was good that Lance spent enough time without the stitches for them to heal, but that made him bleed every time he put them again. Probably to encourage him to not do it anymore, and while it worked, definitely felt cruel.

The boy seemed to not care, humming softly as he worked. His long fingers were perfect for the job, skillfully threading the needle with such an ease, Keith could almost forget it was a form of mutilation, not art. He only go out of his trance when the boy finished.

“Let me.” He took the towel out of his friend’s hands, carefully cleaning his face with it. The lukewarm water in it was nice on his cold fingers, and Lance’s warmth shined through his deep blue eyes.

Keith had to hold back a gasp. The look given to him wasn’t at it’s slightest crazy. In fact, it was so lucid it was searing. Looking at him wasn’t a broken boy. It was Lance Moreno, former Blue Paladin, current Red Paladin, the backbone of Keith’s leadership, the boy from Cuba that could change the universe with a smile.

Sadly, as soon as it came, it went away, and Keith was alone again with the childish broken boy, a mere shell of the most deep and complicated person he had the pleasure of befriending. Of loving. Holding the taller boy’s cheeks gently, foreheads touching, he promised himself, Lance, Hunk, Coran and the whole universe he’d do everything in his power to bring Lance back to sanity. Bring him back and help him be better everyday, like he deserved.

And he’d rip apart anything standing in his way.

* * *

“So, how was Lance?”

“I have a question for each of you.”

So. There was a reason as to why Keith had been the Paladin of Fire. His anger was explosive and hot, burning everything in its path. His whole being was like a flame, fierce and dangerous, but still tamable enough to bring warmth and safety.

Cold anger was more of a Lance thing. A type of ice that crept slowly enough to be unnoticeable, transparent and seemly fragile. But, differently from fire, that could very easily be blown away, it was almost impossible to be vanquished, for layers upon layers of it would accumulate, to the point only the strongest flames would do it any damage. Subtle and powerful, just like Lance.

But, at that moment, standing in front of the people who made Lance hide behind a glacial barrier, Keith felt cold. Calm. Like the fire that usually burned within him had frozen, as if the anger he felt that moment was so much greater than the usual it devoured the flames and replaced them with a blizzard.

“Pidge. How would you feel if someone you saw as a friend treated you like you’re stupid because you don’t get what to them is easy to understand?”

“I’d feel shitty, duh, and do something about it. Like, stop hanging out with that person.” Pidge raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding what Keith was trying to do. “Why?”

“When was the last time you spent some time with Lance?”

“... Months ago.”

“Why?”

“He stopped coming by.”

“So he stopped hanging out with you.” Katie’s eyes widened, understanding where it was going, but before she could say anything, Keith started talking again. “Shiro, if someone you considered a role model treated you harshly without reason other than they not understanding you, how would you feel?”

“Pretty bad. I’d try to talk to them, and if it didn’t work, I’d cut relationships with the person,” Shiro answered, promptly, “Where do you want to get with this, Keith?”

“Did you ever spend any time with Lance ever since we started the whole Defenders of the Universe business?”

“... I’ll admit I didn’t, I was busy trying to not get us killed.” Ah, it was rare for Shiro to get defensive so quickly, unless he was wrong and but too prideful to accept.

“Allura, let’s say you’re interested romantically in someone—”

“This is about Lance, isn’t it?” She interrupted, already glaring at Keith, but her intimidation was nothing when compared to the fear of losing Lance even more.

“It’s about all of you being terrible people. Lance is right now sitting in his room with Hunk and Coran, surrounded by dolls he treats like living beings because you pushed him so much he fucking  _ snapped. _ ”

Silence.

“He spends time with Pidge-doll because she doesn’t belittle him, he talks to Shiro-doll freely because he feels like he can do it, he flirts jokingly with Allura-doll because he got over his crush and formed a friendship with her… And if a lie sounds like it should be true, what does it mean for the truth?”

The three looked at each other and then back at Keith. If something inside them changed, he didn’t see it. He didn’t  _ want _ to see it. It’d be fake. It’d be just a spur of the moment guilt or a desperate look for excuses. They’d say they were sorry and expect forgiveness, asking for it from the wrong person and in the laziest way possible. Keith had no wish to hear their deceiving words.

“Listen to me, you either get your shit together and start making up for it or I’ll make sure all of you end up worse than Lance.”

He didn’t stay to hear their answer, turning around and leaving the Living Room, ice in his veins.

His boy was waiting for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, guys! [Look at what I found!!](https://erskye.tumblr.com/post/185084119435/shut-up-lance-been-losing-motivation-to-draw) It's not fanart of the fic, but it fits so well~ Go check out the artist, they're lovely~


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